Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 94 Part 3.djvu/1028

 94 STAT. 3672 Aug-1.1980

CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS—AUG 1, 1980 HELSINKI FINAL ACT—SUPPORT OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS POSITIONS

[H. Con. Res. 391]

Whereas August 1, 1980, marks the fifth anniversary of the signing of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) by the United States, Canada and thirty-three European nations at Helsinki, Finland; and Whereas the signatories to the Helsinki Final Act committed themselves to "respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief, for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion"; and Whereas Principle VII of the Final Act specifically confirms the "right of the individual to know and act upon his rights and duties" in the field of human rights and Principle IX confirms the "relevant and positive role" organizations and persons can play in contributing toward the achievement of cooperation among states; and Whereas citizens of many signatory nations have formed public groups to monitor and promote full implementation of the Final Act; and Whereas these monitoring groups have documented extensive violations of human rights in the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, and other CSCE signatories; and Whereas the governments of the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, and other countries have imprisoned, exiled, or otherwise punished members of these monitoring groups; and Whereas the representatives of these thirty-five signatories to the Helsinki Final Act will be meeting in Madrid on November 11, 1980, to review implementation and to discuss new measures to advance European cooperation and security; and Whereas respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is indispensable for the development of genuine security and cooperation among signatory states: Now, therefore be it Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That the Congress reaffirms its support for full implementation of all the provisions of the Helsinki Final Act by all the signatories; and be it further Resolved, That it is the sense of the Congress that human rights concerns should be given serious and prominent attention during both the review of implementation and consideration of new proposal phases of the Madrid meeting; and be it further Resolved, That the United States delegation to the Madrid meeting should raise—in a firm, forthright, and specific manner—violations of human rights in other signatory countries, especially those actions taken against members of private monitoring groups; and be it further Resolved, That to preserve the integrity of the CSCE process and to ensure full consideration of human rights issues, any new measures agreed upon at Madrid, including post-Madrid experts' meetings, should be balanced among all sections of the Final Act; and be it further Resolved, That the United States delegation should seek a continuation of the CSCE process by working at the Madrid meeting on setting the time and place of the next review meeting within two years; and be it further

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